William k



l (No Model.)

W. K. L. DICKSON.

l LANTBRN POR BIGYGLB RIDERS. No. 539,799. Patented May 28, 1895.

UNITED STATES ATENT Brien.

WILLIAM K. L. DIOKSON, OF ORANGE, NEl/V JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LLEWELLYN H. JOHNSON, OF SAME PLACE. t

LANTERN FOR BICYCLE-RIDERS.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'559,799, dated May 28, 1895.

Serial No. 519,447. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known` that l, WILLIAM K. L. DICK- sON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Lanterns for Bicycle-Riders, ot' which the following is a speci- Iication.

The object of my invention is to provide a 1o small, light, and simple lantern -for bicycle riders in which a miniature incandescent electric lamp will be employed as the lightgiving part and which lamp will be supplied withl current from a pocket-battery of any suitable construction; and my invention consists in the novel devices and combinations of de-k vices hereinafter more fully set forth and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a zo part hereof, Figurel isafront elevation; Fig.

2, a central vertical section; Fig. 3, a perspective View of the base which carries the lampsocket, showing a resistance-coil and switch; Fig. 4, another perspective View of the base, showing the lampsocket; Fig. 5, a plan View of a modified form of base; Fig. 6, a side View of same with the hanger attached, and Fig. 7

a section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 5.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, 3 and 4, Ais the in- 3o candescent electric' lamp, B the reflector, and C the glass cover, which is placed in a ringo and held therein by a spring-ring c. Ringo has secured to it a pin c2, whereby ring c is hinged to plate a; by bending the ears x 3 5 around said pin. At the top of the reflector is a spring catch b which engages with a lug c3 on ring c to keep the cover closed. .The lamp is inserted in a socket having a metal shell a and a metal piu a which constitute 4o the circuit terminals and with which the lamp terminals a2 a3 make contact respectively. Terminal ct is insulated from terminal a by a tubular piece of insulating material a4. The lamp socket is mounted on the base of insu- 4 5 -lating material d and projects through the retlector as shown in Figs. l and 2. Secured to the under side of base d are two binding-posts e e', which project through an opening in plate Base d is L-shaped and on the back 5o of the upright portion is secured a plate of insulating material d upon which is wound a4 resistance wire r. One end of this wire is counected by ywire 1 to terminala through metal plates y and screws z which is screwed through base d and into the lower end of terminal a. Binding-post e is connected to socket terminal a by plate y', and binding-post e isv connected to the pivot ofswitch s by wire 2. The circuit connections, therefore, are as fol'- lows: from binding-post e to switch s, through 6o resistance r to plates y, to socket terminal a',

to lamp terminal 0.3, through the filament to lamp terminal a2, to socket terminal a and plate y to binding-post e. Base CZ projects beyond the upright portion thereof as shown at d2 and the upright portion is provided with a ledge d3, said projection and ledge being provided to prevent the switch and resistance wire from coming'in contact with the upright extension 2of plate As an additionalsafe- 7o guard against the parts coming in contact f with extension x2, I secure thereto a plate x3 of insulating material. The reflector has secured to it a block' b and the reiiector is secured in position by screws b2 passing through 75 extension x2 and entering block b. Extensiena;2 is provided with a hook x4 designed particularly for hanging the lantern to the riders coat by inserting the hookinto one of `the coat pockets, or into a loop on the coat 8o 4 provided for that purpose, or the'lantern may be hooked to any desirable part. of the bicycle, but itis preferred to hang it as yabove mentioned, in which case the rider is free to dismount without disturbing the circuit connections. A further advantage derived from the use of my improved lautern is that if the rider for any reason dismounts, he can carry his lantern with him without inconvenience and without the delay involved in detaching 9o the lantern from the machine.

Referring to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, d isna base of insulating material having' knuckles a." at one end between which ring c is adapted to be hinged. At the opposite end the base is much thicker and is reduced as shown at f leaving shoulders g and g which are drilled to form bearings for a screw h of -insulating material which has a Wire resistance coiled thereon. into a half circle and provided with grooves f to form a female screw. The thread of The part f of the base'is concaved Ioo screw h is formed by cutting a spiral groove in the shank and embedding in this groove a wire h whose ends are firmly secured in any suitable manner. This wire serves also as the resistance. The end of screw h which has its bearing in shoulder g has a metal sleeve h2 placed thereon which is connected with wire h'. d and a are the terminals of a lamp socket similar to that shown in Fig. 2. t' is a contact brush resting on sleeve h2 and t" is a contact brush adapted to make contact with wire h. This brush is in direct contact with plate y on terminal a. Screw h is provided with a milled head h3 to operate same. In the drawings screw h is shown in the position at which the circuitis open. By turning the screw so that it will travel to the right', wire h will be brought into contact with brush z" completing the circuit to the lamp with the entire 'resistance in circuit. The resistance is gradually reduced as the screw contin ues to travel to the right. Sleeve h2 is of such length as to always maintain contact with brush t'. To extinguish the lamp, screw 7L is turned back, throwing in resistance again, and when the screw reaches the limit of its inward movement the circuit is broken. The circuit connections are as follows: from battery X by wire l to brush i', to sleeve h2, through wire h to brush i", to plate y and terminal a, through the lamp to terminal ot', and wire 2 back to battery.

What I claim isl. The combination in a lantern, of a reflector secured to support x2, an incandescent electric lamp mounted on a base dot' insulating material, a switch and resistance carried by said base, binding-posts on said base for the circuit wires, aglass cover for the reflector carried by a ring c hinged to plate and a catch for securing said cover, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination in a lantern, of a reflector secured to support an incandescent electric lamp mounted on a base d of insulating material, a switch and resistance carried by said base, binding-posts on said base for the circuit wires, a glass cover for the reflector carried by a ring c hinged to plate m, a catch for securing said cover, aud a hook on support :v2 for suspending the lantern, substantially as set forth.

3. In an adjustable resi-tance for electric circuits, the combination of a screw having a resistance coiled thereon, and stationary contact brushes for making contact with said resistance, substantially as set forth.

4. ln an adjustable resistance for electric circuits, the combination of a shank having a wire spirally wrapped thereon to form a screw-th read, and stationary contact brushes for making contact with said wire, substantially as set forth.

5. In an adjustable resistance for electric circuits, the combination of a base of insulating material, a screw workingin said base having a resistance coiled thereon, a sleeve on one end of said screw and connected to said resistance, a contact brush making contact with said resistance, and a contact brush making contact with said sleeve, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 2d day ot' July, 1894:.

WM. K. L. DICKSON.

Vitnesses:

W. PELZER, EUGENE CONRAN. 

